The Human Contribution

'While humans are normally treated as a hazard and an unsafe system component, this book looks at the human as a hero - as the single force that on a significant number of occasions has saved systems from disaster. Instead of seeing humans as a source of risk, they should be seen as an indispensable resource for safety. James Reason lucidly argues for this more balanced view using many examples from the past and the present, switching effortlessly from domain to domain. Elegantly and entertainingly written, it is an invaluable supply of information and inspiration, as well as a pointer to how the thinking about safety should develop.' Erik Hollnagel, MINES ParisTech, France 'James Reason continues in his quest to set new horizons for the worlds of human performance and safety management with this new book. The Human Contribution: Unsafe Acts, Accidents and Heroic Recoveries extends the scope of interest of scientists and engineers from the familiar areas of failures and accidents to include the roles that humans play in stopping bad events, often in heroic and imaginative ways that challenge our abilities to anticipate. This book will certainly be as important to the development of new thinking in safety as his previous books, Human Error and Managing the Risks of Organizational Accidents, have proved to be. Everyone working in this area, from those researchers advancing new models and methods to those "at the sharp end" responsible for implementing safety policies and practices, will find this book both useful and easy to read and understand. John Wreathall, John Wreathall & Co. 'The serious reader will find the book intensely moving at times. The wealth of real case studies, tragedies, splendid successes and discoveries, make it well balanced and difficult to put down. Certainly it merits repeated reading for continuous satisfaction and inspiration.' Occupational Safety & Health, May 2009 '...it is a valuable and significant contribution to managing safety and will almost certainly become known as an important and indispensuble resource in the future.' Health & Safety at Work, June 2009 'As the title indicates, this book not only addresses unsafe acts but also describes a number of heroic recoveries in dire conditions. The stories are spellbinding. Reason discusses what might set heroes apart from others and provides insights into the qualities of resilience in people as well as organizations. This book, with its many thought-provoking insights, will be useful to those involved in the application of human factors/ergonomics as well as to academics - actually to anyone who is interested in or concerned with human activity.' Ergonomics in Design, Winter 2010